Butterflies bring a wonderful beauty to our gardens. They also provide a valuable service - pollinating our flowers. During four stages of development - egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and adult - they require a variety of plant species for various purposes. Eggs are laid on host plants, many of which are native. The monarch butterfly, for example, deposits eggs on milkweed on which the caterpillars feed once hatched. As adults, various species are active from early spring to late fall and require food to thrive.

To supply their needs you must first add the right plants, preferably in large groups with lots of colour, the quality that first attracts them. It is best to plan a succession of bloom from various plants throughout the season. They like nectar-producing flowers with short tubular blossoms for easy access. Single-flowered forms are preferable to doubles. If they happen to be flat-topped, so much the better, as this provides a place for the butterflies to land. Some sources suggest a preference for purple, yellow, orange and red flowers.

Butterflies will surely come flocking to your gardens if you plant some of the perennials noted below along with their recommended companions.

* Watch for the animated hummingbird and butterfly with the plants that attract them. *
The deer icon indicates plants that deer are not usually attracted to.

The best time and method to propagate plants can be found on our image-intensive PROPAGATION page.

To help your plants grow their best, check out our FERTILIZATION page.

To create your own plant partnerships based on tried and true color theory, check out our GARDEN COLOR page.

To see if a particular plant is on this page press Ctrl+F, type in the name, then click the Find button.

ANAPHALIS

Pearly Everlasting, a native North American wildflower, has papery white button flowers with yellow centres over grey foliage, lovely for a late-summer effect. This plant is the food source for larvae of the Painted Lady butterfly that can severely damage its foliage and is also the favourite caterpillar host plant for the American Lady butterfly.

Anaphalis margaritaceae:  Pearly Everlasting, 12-24"x15"

with:  Chelone obliqua

ANTENNARIA

Sometimes called Cat's-Paw or Pink Pussytoes, this silvery-grey-foliaged plant will be covered with pink flowers in late spring. Trim flowering stems back after bloom and enjoy the foliage effect for the rest of the gardening season.

Antennaria dioica rubra:  Pink Pussytoes, 10-12"x12"

food source for 'Painted Lady' butterfly
over:  alpine bulbs
under:  dwarf shrubs or conifers
with:  Euphorbia amygdaloides 'Rubra' (Purple Wood Spurge)

ASCLEPIAS

Most Butterfly Weed species are native North American wildflowers. It is the host plant for the Monarch butterfly which gains protection when it ingests the unpalatable chemicals in its leaves. Late to appear in spring, this plant eventually produces blooms that can be used for cutting or enjoyed in the garden by butterflies and people alike. Butterfly Weed flowers are a rich nectar source for many adult butterflies such as the Black Swallowtail, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Spicebush Swallowtail, Checkered White, American Copper, California Hairstreak, Gray Hairstreak, Zebra, Great Spangled Fritillary, Pearl Crescent and Silver-Spotted Skipper.

Asclepias tuberosa:  Butterfly Weed, 1-3'x2'

for partnership ideas follow the link to Orange Perennials & Their Companions

for partnership ideas follow the link to Orange Perennials & Their Companions

combined with:  Achillea 'Summer Shades Mixture', Aquilegia 'Maxistar' (yellow) & Chrysanthemum parthenium
'Tetra White Wonder'

ASTER

There are many choices from this large genus whose flowers are magnets for butterflies. Whatever your preference for colour or height or even season of bloom, there is no shortage of choices for many garden situations. This is a favourite nectar source of the Checked White, Clouded Sulphur, Pearl Crescent, Painted Lady, Common Buckeye, Viceroy and Common Checkered-Skipper butterflies as well as the host plant for larvae of the Pearl Crescent butterfly.

Aster amellus'Violet Queen':  Italian Aster, 24-30"

in front of:  Artemisia ludoviciana 'Valerie Finnis'
with late summer & fall bloomers:  Phlox paniculata, Rudbeckia, Ornamental Grasses
combined with:  Artemisia ludoviciana 'Silver King' & Chrysanthemum x rubellum 'Clara Curtis'

with:  Lavatera 'Rosea', fall Sedum such as 'Autumn Joy' or Sedum spectabile
with:  Hypericum calycinum
with:  Anemone japonica (pink), Anemone japonica 'Margarete' (a deep pink semi-double)

generally with:  pale pink or powder blue shades
with:  Coreopsis verticillata 'Golden Showers'
with:  silver-gray Artemisia 'Powis Castle' or Stachys olympica 'Silver Carpet'
with:  Hemerocallis 'Happy Returns' or Hemerocallis 'Palest Yellow'

with other butterfly magnets:  Solidago
with:  Aconitum, Anemone (fall-blooming), Boltonia asteroides, Sedum (especially 'Autumn Joy'), Gypsophila,
Artemisia 'Powis Castle' (to hide untidy base of main plant)
combined with:  Achillea x 'Moonshine' & Anemone hybrida
combined with:  Helictotrichon sempervirens & Salvia 'East Friesland'
with ornamental grasses:  Calamagrostis arundinacea var. brachytricha
with fall perennials:  Helianthus, Patrinia scabiosifolia 'Nagoya'

behind:  yellow perennials (to pick up the yellow of the aster's centre)

with:  Ornamental Grasses i.e. Panicum, Pennisetum esp. P. alopecuroides 'Hameln', Miscanthus

with:  gray to tone down its bright rose-pink flowers
with:  Boltonia asteroides 'Snowbank'
with:  Aster novae-angliae 'Autumn Snow' (White New England Aster)
behind:  Gypsophila, Sedum, Artemisia (to hide untidy stems)

with:  Aster novae-angliae 'Alma Potschke'
behind:  Sedum 'Autumn Joy'

note:  attracts monarch butterflies
called a "showstopper" by C. Colston Burrell, who claims it blooms for up to 4 weeks
where:  rear of border
good with:  pastel pink and pale powder blue
with:  silver-gray Artemisia 'Powis Castle'
behind:  Stachys olympica 'Silver Carpet'

with:  Hemerocallis 'Stella d'Oro'

with pink perennials:  Anemone japonica esp. 'Margarete', Lavatera 'Rosea', fall Sedum i.e. 'Autumn Joy',
Sedum spectabile

with:  Sedum spectabile, Sedum 'Autumn Joy'

with:  Aconitum, Anemone hupehensis
with:  Sedum, Gypsophila, Artemisia 'Powis Castle' (to hide untidy base of main plant)
with:  Boltonia asteroides, Centranthus ruber, Coreopsis verticillata, Dictamnus albus purpureus, Echinops,
Eupatorium, Gypsophila paniculata, Helenium autumnale, Helianthus, Heliopsis, Papaver nudicaule,
Patrinia scabiosifolia, Sedum 'Autumn Joy', Solidago

with:  Pennisetum

my research says the flower of this plant should be double;  mine is clearly single, but beautiful nonetheless

BUDDLEIA

What more likely candidate to attract butterflies can there be than one with Butterfly in its name. The Butterfly Bush provides colour in the late season border and a delicious scent that lures both butterflies and hummingbirds in droves. Butterfly Bush is a favoured nectar source for Pipevine Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, Anise Swallowtail, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, American Snout, Great Spangled Fritillary, Pearl Crescent, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Common Buckeye, Common Checkered-Skipper and of course the Monarch Butterfly.

Buddleia:  Butterfly Bush, 3-8'x3-4'

combined with:  other butterfly-attracting plants in informal meadow plantings
with summer and fall-blooming plants:  Aster, Helenium, Echinacea purpurea, Ornamental Grasses
underplanted with:  ground covers
a dynamite combination with:  Echinacea purpurea, Echinacea purpurea 'White Swan' & Liatris

as:  specimen plant for accent, anchor in large perennial borders
with:  perennial & shrub plantings

with pastel flowers of:  Achillea x 'Anthea' (flat creamy heads), Boltonia asteroides 'Pink Beauty', Aster tongolensis
'Wartburg Star' (18", blue with orange centres), Phlox maculata 'Delta'
behind:  Crocosmia 'Citronella'

see for yourself how well the magnet effect works in the image above

with:  soft yellow Alcea rugosa (synonym Alcea ficifolia)

for partnership ideas follow the link to Orange Perennials & Their Companions

CARYOPTERIS

Bluebeard is another shrub that provides mid-summer colour in the garden. Also known as Blue-Mist Shrub and Blue Spirea, this plant is smothered with blue to purple-blue flowers that attract both butterflies and bees.

Caryopteris x clandonensis, 2-3'x24-30"

note:  treat either as a small shrub or as a perennial
where:  as a low hedge, along walkways, in front of foundation plants, in shrub borders
as filler in borders with:  Hemerocallis, Coreopsis verticillata, other late-bloomers
with:  Campanula lactiflora 'Loddon Anna', Sedum 'Autumn Joy'
behind:  Veronica incana
combined with:  Ornamental Grasses

with:  Sedum

with:  Sedum 'Autumn Joy', Lespedeza 'Pink Fountain'

where:  massed in a line
underplanted with:  Sternbergia lutea (a yellow, autumn-flowering bulb)

with:  Achillea millefolium 'Terra Cotta' & Nepeta 'Souvenir d'André Chaudron'

ECHINACEA

The Purple Coneflower is a popular source of nectar and pollen for both butterflies and bees. This native North American wildflower blooms in early to mid-summer and, left intact for the winter, its flowers can also provide a seed source for overwintering birds. This is a favourite nectar plant for the Great Spangled Fritillary, Pearl Crescent and Red Admiral butterflies.

Echinacea purpurea:  Purple Coneflower, 30-36"x18-24"

where:  prairie gardens
meadow combination with:  Solidago, Asclepias tuberosa, Rudbeckia
with:  Ornamental Grasses (tall, upright to arching forms), Buddleia davidii
combined with:  Lilium 'Thunderbolt' (apricot Trumpet), Althaea, Lysimachia clethroides &Echinops ritro
with:  Coreopsis (summer-blooming), Phlox paniculata 'Mt. Fujiyama' (white), Physostegia virginiana 'Alba' (18-24")
with:  Dodecatheon meadia (rose-pink)
with:  Patrinia scabiosifolia 'Nagoya' (bright yellow), Sidalcea including S. malviflora 'Mr. Lindburgh'
with:  Phlox paniculata, Liatris spicata, Liatris spicata 'Floristan White', Achillea esp. 'Coronation Gold',
Chrysanthemum x superbum, Hemerocallis, Perovskia triplicifolia
with:  Rudbeckia, including gold-flowered spp, Rudbeckia 'Marmalade', Rudbeckia laciniata 'Goldquelle'
(a lovely shorter version of 'Golden Glow')
with:  Stachys 'Helen von Stein', Verbena spp. including V. bonariensis
for pastel combination with:  Stachys byzantina, Monarda (pink), Geranium spp. (all in front of Ornamental Grasses)
gorgeous in combination with:  Echinacea purpurea 'White Swan', Liatris & Buddleia
with:  Perilla frutescens 'Atropurpurea' (annual purple-leaved Perilla)
in front of or beside:  Artemisia abrotanum
with:  Perovskia atriplicifolia, Gypsophila paniculata, Filipendula rubra
with:  Goniolinum tartaricum (German Statice), Limonium latifolium (Sea Lavender,  Statice)
for contrast of foliage & flowers with:  Artemisia schmidtiana nana 'Silver Mound'

combined with:  Acanthus mollis, Nepeta x faassenii & Hemerocallis 'Yesterday Memories'
combined with:  mauve Hemerocallis 'Little Grapette', pink Allium 'Summer Beauty' & pale yellow Coreopsis
verticillata 'Moonbeam'

combined with:  Acanthus mollis, Nepeta x faassenii, & Hemerocallis 'Yesterday Memories'

with:  Filipendula rubra 'Venusta' (Martha Washington's Plume)
with:  Achillea 'Coronation Gold' & Eremurus Shelford Hybrids
with:  Echinacea purpurea (purple forms)
offset behind:  Liatris including L. ligulistylis (3-5'; rosy-purple)
combined with:  Lilium 'Mount Everest', Monarda 'Blue Stocking' & Monarda 'Marshall's Delight'
combined with:  Scabiosa 'Pink Mist', Echinops ritro & Verbascum 'Benary's Hybrids'
combined with:  Gypsophila paniculata 'Perfecta' & Lysimachia clethroides
combined with:  Paeonia & Gypsophila paniculata
combined with:  Echinacea purpurea, Liatris, Buddleia

GAILLARDIA

Blanket Flower provides bright, long-blooming colour with its daisy-like flowers that are also effective for cutting.

Gaillardia x grandiflora:  Blanket Flower, height varies x 12" spread

for partnership ideas follow the link to Yellow Perennials & Their Companions

for partnership ideas follow the link to Yellow Perennials & Their Companions

for partnership ideas follow the link to Yellow Perennials & Their Companions

for partnership ideas follow the link to Red Perennials & Their Companions

HELIANTHUS

If you are only familiar with annual forms of Sunflower, you will be thrilled with the many perennial species and cultivars. Useful for both fresh and dried arrangements, perennial Sunflowers also attract beneficial insects to your gardens and its seeds provide a welcome food source for many songbirds. There are types of perennial Sunflower for both sunny and shady sites.

Helianthus

for partnership ideas follow the link to Yellow Perennials & Their Companions

HEMEROCALLIS

The daylily has an interesting history of use - as food, medicine and ornamentation. Small wonder then that the thousands of cultivars available in a variety of sizes, colours, forms and bloom times make it so popular today.

All daylilies are registered with the American Hemerocallis Society. By the end of the year 2008 there were 66,347 such registrations. You can find information about them all by visiting the American Hemerocallis Society Cultivar Database.

Be sure to check out our new page of Daylilies - Spider and Unusual Form.

Hemerocallis:  Daylily

where:  to hide dying foliage of Narcissus and Tulipa in late spring
perfect behind:   Hardy Geranium forms
over:  Muscari
with:  Saponaria ocymoides
with:  Kniphofia, Lavandula, Lilium, Lythrum salicaria 'Morden Pink', Scabiosa caucasica
with:  Oenothera spp. including O. fruticosa, Oenothera macrocarpa (formerly Oenothera missouriensis),
Oenothera tetragona 'Youngii'
with:  Salvia spp. including Salvia nemorosa 'Blue Queen', Salvia x superba, Salvia x superba 'East Friesland'
in moist sunny areas with:  Lobelia siphilitica
with:  Veronica spp. including V. austriaca 'Crater Lake Blue', V. gentianoides, V. longifolia 'Icicle',
V. spicata, V. spicata 'Red Fox', Veronicastrum virginicum (purple)
beside:  spiked Veronica spicata, flat-topped Achillea spp., Phlox paniculata
combined with:  Paeonia & Iris
with:  Echinacea purpurea & Paeonia
with:  Verbena bonariensis
with:  Yucca filamentosa
for shape contrast with:  Hosta spp.
foliage contrast with:  Sedum kamtschaticum
shape contrast behind:  Bergenia
behind:  Sedum
in front of:  Thalictrum aquilegiafolium
with:  Stokesia laevis
with:  Ornamental Grasses, especially Miscanthus sinensis 'Silberfeder' or 'Zebrinus'
with:  Phlox paniculata 'Mt. Fujiyama', Platycodon grandiflorus, Rudbeckia
with:  Nepeta x 'Dropmore Blue' (if cut back hard before spring bloom to force later flowering during daylily season)
combined with:  Iris x germanica & Sedum kamtschaticum

combined with:  Helenium (rusty-red), Achillea 'Great Expectations' (buff yellow) & Miscanthus sinensis 'Zebrinus'
(cream-banded)

with:  blue Veronica spicata, Veronica 'Sunny Border Blue', Monarda didyma (red)

combined with:  Chrysanthemum x superbum & Veronica (blue) or Platycodon (lavender)
in front of:  white Phlox paniculata, Veronica chaixii 'Album'
with:  Veronicastrum virginicum (white)

with:  Heuchera 'Coral Cloud'
in front of:  Phlox paniculata (white), Veronica chaixii 'Album'

with:  Astilbe

edging combination with:  Nepeta 'Blue Wonder', Coreopsis 'Moonbeam', Arrhenatherum elatius var. bulbosum
'Variegatum' (cream-striped) & Stachys byzantina 'Silver Carpet'
above combination in front of:  Lilium & Achillea 'Moonshine', Artemisia 'Powis Castle', Delphinium 'Belladonna'
(sky-blue), Eryngium, Echinops ritro, Kniphofia (primrose- yellow)
above 2 combinations in front of:  Rosa 'Harrison's Yellow', Achillea 'Gold Plate', Helenium (yellow), &
Artemisia lactiflora

for partnership ideas follow the link to Red Perennials & Their Companions

where:  near patio or deck to enjoy fragrance of evening blooms

synonym:  Hemerocallis lilio-asphodelus
co-blooming with:  pink Dictamnus albus purpureus & deep purple Iris sibirica
with:  Veronica 'Romily Purple' (a deep violet)

where:  between or under shrubs or trees;  this is very aggressive
to hide dying foliage of:  Narcissus & Tulipa
with:  late-blooming true bulbous Lilies, Lythrum, Gloriosa Daisies, Rudbeckia, tall Mulleins, Heliopsis
in some shade with:  tall blue Aconitum, Astilbe, Hosta, Ferns, Iris sibirica

where:  towering behind Rhododendron

with:  warm-yellow Hemerocallis 'Purity'

for partnership ideas follow the link to Pink Perennials & Their Companions

perfectly partnered above with:  Arrhenatherum elatius bulbosum 'Variegatum'
also see partners for peach-toned and apricot daylilies above

echo with:  purple Iris with yellow bee-guides & yellow-flowered Verbascum bombyciferum

I'm still looking for the perfect partner for this subtle beauty

perfect wherever you put it, this wonderful cultivar shines from a distance

this plant was bought labelled 'Golden Gift' but may be something else
it displays faint reddish brushstrokes on both the top and reverse of the petals
it is clearly a miniature with tiny flowers but on tall stems
combined with:  Achillea x 'Moonshine' & Lupinus

where:  excellent for mass planting
with:  other night-bloomers of any colour at all
with:  Scabiosa x 'Butterfly Blue (Beauty)', Aster x frikartii 'Mönch'

this large-flowered beauty will draw eyes away from anything nearby

with:  Monarda 'Cambridge Scarlet'
combined with:  Heuchera sanguinea & Echinops ritro
combined with:  coral Hemerocallis 'Sweetbriar' & Echinops ritro

combined with:  Artemisia 'Silver King' & Phlox paniculata Franz Schubert' (lilac-blue with purple eye)
combined with:  Achillea x 'Coronation Gold', Miscanthus sinensis 'Silberfeder' &  Veronicastrum virginicum 'Album'

for partnership ideas follow the link to Orange Perennials & Their Companions

combined with:  Lythrum virgatum 'Morden Pink' & Veronica longifolia 'Sunny Border Blue'

combined with:  Echinacea purpurea 'Bright Star', pink Allium 'Summer Beauty', pale yellow Coreopsis verticillata
'Moonbeam'

echo with:  purple Iris with yellow bee-guides & yellow-flowered Verbascum bombyciferum
combined with:  Achillea x taygetea & Veronica incana

for partnership ideas follow the link to Orange Perennials & Their Companions

with:  blue Aster 'Monch'

combined with:  Lythrum virgatum 'Morden Pink' & Hemerocallis 'Prairie Blue Eyes'

with cool whites:  Phlox paniculata 'Miss Lingard'

combined with:  Hemerocallis 'Perennial Pleasures' & Lythrum virgatum 'Morden Pink'

where:  to break up a solid mass of plants in mid-border

where:  around Rhododendron

with:  Hosta under maple tree

for partnership ideas follow the link to Orange Perennials & Their Companions

for partnership ideas follow the link to Yellow Perennials & Their Companions

there is no shortage of perfect partnerships to try with this lovely daylily

with:  Gaillardia x grandiflora 'Baby Cole' (only 8" tall)

this is a "Must-Add" cultivar with huge flowers

combined with:  Acanthus mollis, Echinacea purpurea 'Bright Star' or 'Magnus' & Nepeta x faassenii

where:  extreme rear of perennial border

FOR MORE BUTTERFLY-ATTRACTING PERENNIALS & THEIR COMPANIONS FOLLOW THE LINK BELOW.

• Liatris to Veronicastrum

All of our own Gardens By The Bay pages can be accessed by clicking on the links below.

HOME

GARDEN POETRY  |  GARDEN POETRY MUSE

GEORGIAN BAY VIEW

BOTANICAL LATIN - BASICS

COLOR THEORY

THE GARDENS

CORNER GARDEN CONSTRUCTION  |  CORNER GARDEN PLANTING  |  LONG GARDEN

EAST GARDEN  |  HOSTA GARDEN  |  NORTH GARDEN  |  WINTER GARDENS

PLANT PARTNERSHIPS

BLUE PERENNIALS    Aconitum - Geranium  |  Iris - Vinca

BULBS    Allium - Hyacinthus  |  Narcissus only  |  Tulipa only  |  Minor Bulbs

BUTTERFLY MAGNETS    Anaphalis - Hemerocallis  |  Liatris - Veronicastrum
DAYLILIES      Spider & Unusual Form

EDGERS    Arabis - Iris  |  Nepeta - Veronica

FOLIAGE PERENNIALS     Alchemilla - Tanacetum

HOSTA    Hosta - all

HUMMINGBIRD-FRIENDLY PERENNIALS    Alcea - Salvia

ORANGE PERENNIALS    Achillea - Tulipa

ORNAMENTAL GRASSES    Acorus - Imperata |  Miscanthus - Spodiopogon

PINK PERENNIALS    Achillea - Lilium  |  Lychnis - Veronica

PURPLE PERENNIALS    Aconitum - Liatris  |  Polemonium - Veronica

RED PERENNIALS    Achillea - Veronica

SHADE PERENNIALS    Aegopodium - Erythronium  |  Ferns - Polemonium  |  Polygonatum - Vinca

SILVER FOLIAGE PERENNIALS    Achillea - Cerastium    |    Cornus - Limonium    |    Lunaria - Veronica

SIMPLY SPECIAL PERENNIALS    Acanthus - Saxifraga

WHITE PERENNIALS    Achillea - Iris  |  Kalimeris - Yucca

YELLOW PERENNIALS    Achillea - Hypericum  |  Inula - Verbascum

VARIEGATED-FOLIAGE PERENNIALS    Acorus - Erythronium  |  Hakonechloa - Lysimachia  |  Miscanthus - Yucca

PLANT PROFILES

Dianthus 'Tiny Rubies'  |  Geranium  |  Geum coccineum  |  Kerria japonica  |  Knautia macedonica

Paeonia tenuifolia  |  Papaver somniferum  |  Rudbeckia  |  Salvia 'East Friesland'

Trollius  |  Veronica 'Sunny Border Blue'

PROPAGATION

DIVISION - SPRING ONLY  |   DIVISION - FALL ONLY  |   DIVISION - SPRING OR FALL  |   DO NOT DIVIDE

FERTILIZATION

BULBS  |   ORNAMENTAL GRASSES  |   PERENNIALS  |   SHRUBS  |   VINES

LINKS

GARDENS  |   LOCAL GARDENS  |   BOTANICAL TERMINOLOGY

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